BETHESDA — Six years into his professional motocross career, Daniel Herrlein is right where he wants to be.

“I think I’m at a pretty good place in my career,” he said recently at his Belmont County home. “I’ve had overall wins in select rounds. I wish I would have been able to put all the elements together and get that championship. I know I can win. I’ve done it.

“As long as I keep making improvements and better myself, not only as a rider but as a person, too,” he added. “You learn a lot of life lessons through this sport, just like any other. It’s been a really good deal. It has transformed me as a rider. It’s helped me become a better rider and I think that’s going to show next year.

“I had a good season this year. I finished fourth in the point standings, but my goal, obviously, was to win the championship. That was kind of out of reach due to me missing a main event. I kind of fell back in points, but third place was right there,” he continued. “I really wanted to get third and it came down to me and my good buddy, Travis Sewell. Actually, it was a three-way battle going into (the last stop) in Vegas. We were all within three points of each other.

“I knew I could get third … it was right there. The first main Jacob Hayes got a bad start and he was way back. I put myself in a good position. I started second and I slipped back to third, but I had Travis behind me,” he recalled. “I was two points behind him at the time. Me finishing third and him fourth made it a one-point difference, and if I could just beat him again in the second main we would be tied. However, since I won the previous round in Reno I had more overall wins than him and I would have gotten the tiebreaker for third-place in the championships.

“But, come time for the second main, I started second but came up a little short,” he noted. “I was in good shape and when we entered the arena it was literally me and Travis side-by-side, so I knew from there it was going to be a pretty good race. Whoever beat whoever got third place and that’s a pretty nice paycheck. We were both going for it, but unfortunately I made a mistake and was unable to stay in the draft, so to speak. I lost some ground and wasn’t able to make it back up to make a pass on him, but it was a good season.”

It was that next to last stop at Reno that provided Herrlein with the spark heading into the final stop.

He won the AMSOIL Arenacross inside Livestock Events Center. The 250AX battle went down to the last lap between Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jacob Hayes and Rockford Fosgate TiLube Honda’s Chris Blose.

The first 250AX main event saw tight action into the first turn where Hayes got held up after the start, and Blose took off with the early lead. By Lap 6, Hayes moved into second place behind Blose, with Sewell, riding for TZR Sportland 2, and Herrlein, riding for Woodstock KTM, also at the front of the pack and sandwiched between the action. Hayes waited until the final turn to take the inside line on Blose, and the two connected and went down with both riders scrambling to get on their bikes and finish the race. Hayes made quick work and ended up taking the win with Sewell in second, Herrlein third and Blose fourth.

In the anticipated second main event, Blose get out to an early lead with Herrlein, Hayes and Sewell in tow. Hayes worked his way up to second behind Blose, and it seemed as if Blose would have an easy win ahead of Hayes until an eventful last lap when Hayes ran Blose high on the straight before heading into the whoops, and the two made contact. Herrlein and Sewell both made passes on the top running duo, with Herrlein pulling off his first main event win of the season and Sewell in second, followed by Hayes and Blose.

“I was really trying to get third. Even tough I got the same two years in a row, it was a really good, successful season,” Herrlein explained. “There were a few weaknesses that I noticed throughout the season. I was able to recognize those weaknesses and I was able to go back throughout the week at Club 57 (in Georgia) and work on those. We were able to turn some of those weaknesses into my strengths, so with that being said, I think it was a great season. I made a lot of improvements.”

Unfortunately, for Herrlein and other riders, ArenaCross has come to an end. There is no more ArenaCross Series.

“It was fun for a lot of people, so I’ll have to transition on to SuperCross again,” he explained. “I raced the 250 class in years past. I feel like I am much more prepared this time than before.

He’s still undecided whether he’s going to race the 250 or the 450, but said he’s leaning more towards the 450.

“I think I am a better 450 rider. I’m looking forward to it.”

There’s a big difference in sizes, however.

“The 450 machines are heavier than the 250 and obviously they’ve got a lot more power. You have to ride them totally different,” he said. “The 250 you just have to twist the throttle and rev the thing as high as it goes. Pin it to win it, so to speak. On the 450, you have to respect the power. It takes a little more skill to make it go good. You have to have a lot of throttle control.”

What does the future have in store?

“SuperCross starts in Anaheim and they do several rounds out west. They come east in January. I’ll have some time off, I’ll probably start competing in February,” he said.

Last year he was picked up by a team to go race the Australian SuperCross season.

“It was pretty sweet … a cool experience,” he added “It was something new and I got to race at some new places. I’ll have to see what’s going on for this fall over there. I might work out a deal to do the full SuperCross season.”